Most Reverend John Bogna Bakeni, Auxiliary Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Maiduguri in Northeastern Nigeria, has appealed to the British government to intensify its support for the fight against Boko Haram.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Speaking about the prolonged insurgency in Borno State, he described the situation as challenging for both Christian and Muslim communities.
“We have seen destruction of lives and property. We have seen mass displacement of people,” he said, expressing deep concern over the toll the conflict continues to take on civilians.
While acknowledging the efforts of the British government in assisting Nigeria, Bishop Bakeni stressed that more needs to be done.
“I must acknowledge with every sense of gratitude that the British government has done and is still doing a lot, but they can still do more because we are not yet out of the woods,” he noted.
GospelRaw gathered that British officials have renewed diplomatic discussions with Nigeria on expanding security cooperation, a move that community leaders hope will translate into stronger support on the ground.
The Bishop further urged the British government to provide additional assistance to Nigeria’s security forces through intelligence gathering, training and equipment.
According to him, one of the major challenges is tracing the source of weapons used by the insurgents.
“Part of our problem is that we don’t know where these arms are coming from, where the terrorists get their weapons,” he explained.
Bishop Bakeni expressed confidence in Britain’s capacity and goodwill to play a greater role in ending the insurgency.
“We feel we are a child since we are a former colony. We believe in them, in their capacity and in their goodwill. They can do a lot to help us end this crisis,” he said.
Borno State has been at the centre of the Boko Haram insurgency for more than a decade, with thousands of lives lost and millions displaced.
